This article explains how AT&T, the US telecoms corporation, used marketing-mix modelling to determine the value of word of mouth (WOM) to the brand and describes the strategies used to maximise its effectiveness. View Summary

This article explains how AT&T, the US telecoms corporation, used marketing-mix modelling to determine the value of word of mouth (WOM) to the brand and describes the strategies used to maximise its effectiveness.

AT&T has determined that over 10% of sales volume can be attributed to positive WOM, and over 10% of lost sales are due to negative comments.

The key metrics that demonstrate a direct relationship with sales are word of mouth, media, attitudes about its network, advertising messaging and perceptions of competitors.

To maximise the value of paid media, it focuses on making advertising buzz-worthy and launching innovative products.

2

BT's London 2012 partnership: A silver medal on the first outing

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Anastasia Kourovkaia, Market Leader, Quarter 1, 2014, pp. 18-19

This article describes sponsorship of the London Olympics 2012 by BT, the telecommunications company. View Summary

This article describes sponsorship of the London Olympics 2012 by BT, the telecommunications company. Starting in advance of the Games BT used its own assets, such as telephone boxes and building facades, to spread a message building up to the event. It also held several events and generated media coverage with a 1,000 day countdown on London's BT Tower. The company used its communications expertise to improve the Games, with organisers and consumers acknowledging the company's contribution in offering its services. BT's sponsorship increased its brand contribution score and employee engagement.

3

How BT saves £2 million a year through social media

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Matthew Carlton, Event Reports, IPA Eff Fest, October 2013

This event report explains how BT, the telecommunications company, estimates that its use of social media for customer service saves the company £2 million a year. View Summary

This event report explains how BT, the telecommunications company, estimates that its use of social media for customer service saves the company £2 million a year. Social media, and particularly Twitter, is used as part of the company's customer service provision. The channel is also a useful way to communicate problems with infrastructure that impact on service, helping to keep customers updated. Positive experiences of the brand on Twitter reach a wider following, allowing for amplification.

4

SingTel builds brand love using social media

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Low Lai Chow, Event Reports, APPIES, August 2013

This event report discusses how SingTel, the telecoms group, has shed a brand image which was seen as cold and unfriendly in order to successfully engage with consumers on social media. View Summary

This event report discusses how SingTel, the telecoms group, has shed a brand image which was seen as cold and unfriendly in order to successfully engage with consumers on social media. On the one hand, this has involved making a series of commitments to the users of these sites. Examples of this include connecting around their interests, as well as providing rigorous customer care and dealing promptly with any service issues they face. Having demonstrated this caring side of its personality, SingTel has been able to help consumers have fun, as demonstrated by tie-ups with pop group 2NE1 and celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey.

5

Deutsche Telekom: The success of sharing

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Wolfgang Kampbartold, Admap, April 2013, pp. 14-16

This case study from Deutsche Telekom demonstrates the changing nature of communications with its 'Life is for sharing' campaign. View Summary

This case study from Deutsche Telekom demonstrates the changing nature of communications with its 'Life is for sharing' campaign. It looks at how the campaign has evolved from one big memorable moment to a series of moments in a journey leading up to the latest embodiment, 'Move on'. Starring Hollywood actor Mads Mikkelsen, Move On is a road trip movie which begins in the Netherlands and journeys through Germany and Eastern Europe, with some direction and details of the storyline being decided by Deutsche Telekom customers. The campaign lasted several months from its online launch to its TV premiere. With film roll-out running into this year, the movies and associated media activity will run for almost a year. Initial results are showing total brand fit uplift was on average 10.5% across all markets with purchase intention increased up to 30%.

6

Online content creators are not all created equal

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Francois Pétavy, Joel Cere and Yannig Roth, Research on Warc, eYeka, February 2013

While consumer participation online has increased, the creation of original content is still scarce and it can be difficult for marketers to get online consumers to create for brands rather than around them. View Summary

While consumer participation online has increased, the creation of original content is still scarce and it can be difficult for marketers to get online consumers to create for brands rather than around them. This article suggests that online consumers can be separated into three pools that will each interact with a brand differently: Creators (scarcest), Brand Enthusiasts and Spectators (the majority). Creators can be reached to generate novel ideas and original content, Enthusiasts play an important role in refining and spreading them, while Spectators validate and will ultimately form the largest purchase group. Included is a case study from SFR, the French telecommunications company, of how this works in practice.

7

Sponsorship Effectiveness (Telecoms)

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Recommended Cases, January 2013

This document highlights best practice in using sponsorship effectively in the telecoms sector with cases from Vodafone (India), Talk Talk (UK), O2 (UK) and O2 (Ireland).

8

Online Video Effectiveness (Telecoms)

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Recommended Cases, January 2013

Discover top online video advertising strategies for the telecoms sector in this document with cases from BT (UK), Motorola (Europe), T-Mobile (UK) and HTC (USA).

Discover top online video advertising strategies for the telecoms sector in this document with cases from BT (UK), Motorola (Europe), T-Mobile (UK) and HTC (USA).

9

Social Media Effectiveness (Telecoms)

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Recommended Cases, October 2012

Featuring case studies from Smartfren Telecom (Indonesia), T-Mobile (UK), Digi Wwwow (Malaysia) and StarHub (Singapore), this is a collection of Warc's best case studies on Social Media Effectiveness in the telecoms category.

10

Radio Effectiveness (Telecoms)

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Recommended Cases, October 2012

This document, featuring case studies from Idea (India), Alfa (Lebanon), Happy Prepaid (Malaysia) and Vodafone (India), is a collection of Warc's best case studies on Radio Effectiveness in the teleco... View Summary

This document, featuring case studies from Idea (India), Alfa (Lebanon), Happy Prepaid (Malaysia) and Vodafone (India), is a collection of Warc's best case studies on Radio Effectiveness in the telecoms category.

11

Telstra: How a telco became the people's champion

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John Davidson, Event Reports, Marketing Week Australia, August 2012

Australian telco giant Telstra was a brand that consumers used but didn't overly like. Inese Kingsmill, Telstra's Director of Corporate Marketing, spoke at Marketing Week 2012 in Adelaide to explain that faced with increasing competition and greater customer choice, the company had little choice but to undergo a massive rebrand. View Summary

Australian telco giant Telstra was a brand that consumers used but didn't overly like. Inese Kingsmill, Telstra's Director of Corporate Marketing, spoke at Marketing Week 2012 in Adelaide to explain that faced with increasing competition and greater customer choice, the company had little choice but to undergo a massive rebrand. It aspired to become customer-driven, starting with creating a better experience for its employees, which would lead to a better customer experience, and started to socialise the company - talking to consumers about what they wanted. The rebrand improved brand consideration by 28% and added 1.8 million new customers. Kingsmill says that Telstra's mantra for change is to "start at the top and work down", a belief that any brand can adopt.

12

Newspaper Effectiveness (Telecoms)

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Recommended Cases, August 2012

This document, featuring case studies from Vodafone (India), O2 (UK), Nokia (India) and Videotron (Canada) is a collection of Warc's best case studies on how to use newspapers to market telecoms.... View Summary

This document, featuring case studies from Vodafone (India), O2 (UK), Nokia (India) and Videotron (Canada) is a collection of Warc's best case studies on how to use newspapers to market telecoms.

13

Increase Sales (US Telecom Services)

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Recommended Cases, June 2012

This document, featuring case studies from Verizon FiOS, Comcast, Qwest Communications and AT&T, is a collection of Warc's best case studies on how to increase sales in telecom services in the USA.View Summary

This document, featuring case studies from Verizon FiOS, Comcast, Qwest Communications and AT&T, is a collection of Warc's best case studies on how to increase sales in telecom services in the USA.

14

Adstats: Telecoms ad spend

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Warc Data, November 2011, pp. 48-49

Global telecoms firms have benefited from the expansion of network infrastructure and mobile phone ownership in recent years. View Summary

Global telecoms firms have benefited from the expansion of network infrastructure and mobile phone ownership in recent years.

But while AT&T and Verizon are increasing ad spend at a faster rate than other advertisers, telecoms ad spend is expanding at a slower rate than the global average.

Expenditure rose by 2.3% year on year in H1 2011, compared to the global rate of 7.2%.

Overall, telecoms ad spend makes up 5.1% of the global all category total, accounting for $13 billion of expenditure in the first half of 2011.

TV is still the media channel of choice, accounting for three-quarters of category ad spend.

Within the category, ads for networks dominate, accounting for 49% of expenditure, while ads for handsets make up 12%.

15

How SingTel used social media to boost its customer service

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Low Lai Chow, Event Reports, Social Media World Forum, September 2011

This article, based on a presentation at the Social Media World Forum Asia in Singapore, describes how the telecoms company SingTel embraced Facebook as a customer service channel. View Summary

This article, based on a presentation at the Social Media World Forum Asia in Singapore, describes how the telecoms company SingTel embraced Facebook as a customer service channel. The move first started as an agency-led PR response to customers' tendency to vent their frustrations with the company via social media. However, the initiative was later taken in-house and developed further, driven by three objectives: become among the top brands in social media in Singapore by growing the fanbase; maintain a high degree of customer engagement; and use the social networking tool as a credible customer service extension. A content-led Facebook strategy focusing on areas such as sports, music, entertainment, gadgets and social responsibility was crucial to gaining customer engagement and ensuring regular and repeat visits. A sharp increase in fan "likes" followed. Equally, customer care staff were empowered to solve customers' problems through the the social networking site. Five essentials for companies seeking to achieve social media success are offered: have clear objectives; garner top-level management support; empower community managers; be prepared to spend money; and have content that grows communities.

16

Applying the models across sectors, budgets and objectives: New models of marketing effectiveness

This chapter of the IPA's Datamine report, New Models of Marketing Effectiveness, provides practical insights into applying the models it discusses to different business tasks; for a given objective, sector or business challenge, it asks which model is the one most likely to deliver results? Financial advertisers make much more use of advertising-led integration. View Summary

This chapter of the IPA's Datamine report, New Models of Marketing Effectiveness, provides practical insights into applying the models it discusses to different business tasks; for a given objective, sector or business challenge, it asks which model is the one most likely to deliver results? Financial advertisers make much more use of advertising-led integration. No integration is relatively most common among telecoms advertisers. Brand idea-led orchestration is disproportionately popular among non-food FMCG advertisers. While participation-led orchestration is not common in any large group, it is more prevalent among smaller budgets but also within service sectors such as telecoms. Overall, non-integrated campaigns, or ones that use just one medium, are surprisingly effective, whereas more participatory campaigns generally pack less of a hard punch.

17

The challenge for Indian telcos - four lessons from other industries

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Anupama Wagh Koppar, Warc Exclusive, June 2011

The telecom market in India is undergoing rapid change. This article draws parallels from other industry categories to answer questions that the telecommunications market is asking. View Summary

The telecom market in India is undergoing rapid change. This article draws parallels from other industry categories to answer questions that the telecommunications market is asking. The media industry suggests that consumers will choose apps over the operating system or network provider. Staple goods highlight the need to attach a strong brand message to generic promotions. The FMCG industry demonstrate the importance of profiling consumers. The ability to segment markets differently to the originally intended is shown in many different businesses.

18

Telecommunications Services (Global Industry Overview)

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Gale Global Industry Overviews, 2011

This paper provides an overview of the global telecommunications services industry. The paper gives a snapshot summary, with additional sections on the industry's development, organisation and structure, current conditions and its leading companies and countries. View Summary

This paper provides an overview of the global telecommunications services industry. The paper gives a snapshot summary, with additional sections on the industry's development, organisation and structure, current conditions and its leading companies and countries. It contains a list of further information sources and reading.

19

Telephony (Emerging Industry Overview)

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Gale Emerging Industry Overviews, 2011

This paper provides an overview of the telephony industry, primarily in the United States. The paper gives a snapshot summary of the emerging industry in the US, with additional sections on its development, organisation and structure, current conditions and leading companies. View Summary

This paper provides an overview of the telephony industry, primarily in the United States. The paper gives a snapshot summary of the emerging industry in the US, with additional sections on its development, organisation and structure, current conditions and leading companies. It concludes with a brief section about the industry in other countries ('America and the world') as well as a list of further information sources and reading.

20

Verizon Answers Call of Online Customer Service

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Geoffrey Precourt, Event Reports, Advertising Week, September 2009

Verizon's use of online forums as customer service and engagement tools is the focus of this report from New York Advertising Week by Warc's U.S. View Summary

Verizon's use of online forums as customer service and engagement tools is the focus of this report from New York Advertising Week by Warc's U.S. Editor, Geoffrey Precourt. Mark Studness, Verizon's director of e-commerce, explained to a gathering of the Advertising Research Foundation's first Social Media Council how the company could "extend the breadth of online support content, increase the relevancy of our customer support, reduce the timelines offered by our publications, and deepen our customer relations" by embracing forums. He acknowledges and describes the risks in such an open strategy, but concludes that there are huge benefits to be had from sharing the collective wisdom and experience of its users.

This paper describes how Verizon (a long-distance telephone service in the USA) built its credibility and business in the Mexican-American community via a partnership with SRE (part of the Mexican Government). View Summary

This paper describes how Verizon (a long-distance telephone service in the USA) built its credibility and business in the Mexican-American community via a partnership with SRE (part of the Mexican Government). In particular, it covers the success of a sponsored art contest for children.